


Ruin It.

by sokha



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempt at Humor, Best Friends, Cliche, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Idiots in Love, Light Angst, Love Poems, M/M, Non-binary character, Pining, Roommates, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:28:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23903128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sokha/pseuds/sokha
Summary: The cliche 'in love with your best friend' story: Jicheol Version
Relationships: Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups & Lee Jihoon | Woozi, Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Lee Jihoon | Woozi, Jeon Wonwoo & Kim Mingyu, Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu, Wen Jun Hui | Jun & Yoon Jeonghan, Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Yoon Jeonghan
Comments: 1
Kudos: 23





	Ruin It.

**Author's Note:**

> Jihoon is non-binary in this story and using they/them pronouns but is okay with a few common masculine terms like dude, homie, and bro.

Seungcheol can't remember the exact moment he fell in love with Jihoon, but he remembers how it felt. It felt like one moment he was standing up fine and the next moment someone's pulled the rug under him. Now he's free falling into love with no end. He would ask for a prayer in church for his fallen self, for the sinful devotion to this sweet bliss of love.

To make things worse this love is with his best friend of 10 years. The person he survived primary school and then high school with. The person Seungcheol cried his eyes out for hours on end and who hugged him during his happiest moments. He shared all these memories with Jihoon. Wherever happiness was, Jihoon was at the epicenter. 

There were days where he almost said it, almost uttering a confession that would make church confessions look like silly little playground gossip. This would make saints and the heavens gasp. But Seungcheol always held it in, as though speaking such truth would tear worlds apart. It could tear  _ his  _ world apart. Seungcheol couldn't imagine living without Hoonie by his side and he hopes Jihoon thinks the same. He knows a lot about Jihoon and what they've experienced. The two are joined at the hip and in their hearts.And as if this couldn’t be more complicated. Seungcheol has tragically added an additional twist to his whole 'in love with best friend' dilemma. 

Basically, Seungcheol writes poetry about Jihoon. And gives it to Jihoon... in the form of lyrics! Jihoon is always asking him to co-write songs with them because he’s a Music major and Seungcheol needs to let out all this angst he has brewing inside of him. So it's not like he hadn't technically confessed, it's just he's never said it directly. Besides, no matter what, the younger one always seemed out of reach. Not in an emotional sense. But Jihoon was constantly and unwaveringly fixated on their future. The short little blonde has a one track mind that keeps on playing the same song. They charged on forward without hesitation as long as they grew closer to their goals. Seungcheol knows this, so he avoids causing any sort of disruption in his friend's quest. Even at the expense of his own heart bleeding out with unrequited love. 

So here Seungcheol is now. A sophomore in college who's hopelessly and pathetically in love with his best friend. Something ripped right out of a young adult romance novel. He slams his head on the cafeteria table and groans, pulling at his black hair.

"Is it about Jihoon  _ again _ ?" His friend Jeonghan sighs. He props his elbow on the table and rests his hand against his cheek, just watching his friend become absorbed in angst. Jeonghan's known Seungcheol only since freshman year, but the two get along well somehow. They only took one History class together, but they hit it off pretty well since the beginning. 

"Is it about Jihoon again?" Seungcheol mimics. "Ugh yes! Yes it's about Jihoon, okay? God they’ve been on my mind forever."

"Then just confess already." Jeonghan says so nonchalantly as he pokes a piece of beef with his chopsticks. 

"Things aren't as simple like they are with you and Jun okay Han. I care about Jihoon too much to ruin our friendship over some silly crush."

"Man you do not have a silly crush," Jeonghan sighs as he extends his arms out to stretch, "You're fucking infatuated. And look it's not my fault I don't like fronting. I liked Jun so I told him knowing that he might not feel the same. Life's a game Cheolie, work with the cards you got."

"My cards are awful though!" Seungcheol cries out. 

Jeonghan just chuckles at this and pats Seungcheol's right shoulder lightly, "I'm sure you have an ace up your sleeve somewhere! Anyways, I gotta go. I forgot Jun and I were supposed to go shopping. Good luck with the Hoonie situation!!!"

And just like that, Jeonghan gets up and rushes out of the building, leaving Seungcheol there to sulk in his own misery. 

///

One day, Seungcheol just confesses. Not by his own accords though. It seems like the universe has had enough of Seungcheol's pining and decided to change up his love life. The whole ordeal starts off like any normal Tuesday night at their apartment. The two are sitting on Jihoon's bed. Jihoon is lying on their stomach with a laptop in front of them and Seungcheol is in a similar position scanning his lyric book. Seungcheol is absentmindedly flipping through the pages without any conscience when Jihoon grabs his wrists abruptly. This would be fine in most cards, but the worst page possible is left wide open in front of them both. Exposed like a fresh wound, primed to have salt rubbed into it. It's a poem about Jihoon with their name in it. 

_ Shit. _ Seungcheol thinks to himself.

"What's this one? I've never seen it before?" His best friend questions, obviously intrigued at the one poem they've clearly haven't got a glance at before. 

"Oh it's nothing. It's just something dumb I wrote a while ago." Seungcheol shyly says as he tries to turn the page.

"Dude." Jihoon starts off, "You write lyrical masterpieces, I know this one has to be good too. Just show it to me already." 

"Hoonie... It's really nothing..." Seungcheol begins to plead as his face flushes into a summery bright shade of pink. 

Jihoon crosses their arms in disapproval. "Well if it's nothing, then there's nothing to hide or be concerned about. I've known you for ten years Cheolie, I won't judge you harshly and you know that." 

Seungcheol knows the blonde is right. Behind the stern exterior, Jihoon softens up only to him these days. Knowing that blickering any further would be pointless and probably jeopardize their friendship, he surrenders the book to Jihoon.

Jihoon repositions themselves so that their legs are cross and they're sitting upwards now. And they begin to read the poem: 

***

_ Flower Blossoms _

_ Your voice is sweeter than any flower’s fragrance could ever be. _

_ In my heart, there are flowers that cannot exist on Earth _

_ For they are too pure and delicate for the cruelty of reality _

_ Soil does not have the nutrients they need to thrive _

_ They only exist in my heart when I think of you, for my heart is garden built for you _

_ And your flowers are too dear to me for someone else to have _

_ One's too sweet and too beautiful to bloom for anyone else.  _

_ And like flowers waiting for Spring, I waited for you to see me _

_ To really see how I feel about you.  _

_ But you are always looking forward, never behind or beside you _

_ Never looking at where I was _

_ But like the fool I am, I kept hoping _

_ Hoping you would stop and see  _

_ That I was always standing here in anticipation.  _

_ Watching. _

_ Waiting.  _

_ Just wanting to say hello.  _

_ To say 'I love you Jihoon'. _

_ That I can't imagine being in love with another person that's not you.  _

_ Or having a flowerbed in my ribcage be bloomed by anyone but you. _

_ Because a rose by the name Lee Jihoon is the sweetest flower I have ever known.  _

***

Seungcheol watches Jihoon's eyes make their way down the page and he starts burning up. He can't handle the anxiety emitting off the situation. So naturally he starts to cry silently, tears streaming down his face. He feels humiliated and embarrassed, thinking about all the years of friendships crushed and thrown away in one single moment. 

By now Jioon has finished reading and sets down the book into their lap. Seungcheol looks at his friend's perplexed expression. He can't tell if it's good or bad, but right now he needs to get out this fucked up situation.

"Seungch—"

"I have to go." Seungcheol says in one breath before running towards the door out of the apartment complex. He only grabs his phone, wallet and keys, as he rushes down the stairs. As he runs, Seungcheol swears he ends up with tunnel vision. But he knows he left Jihoon alone to see him slowly disappear. 

///

Seungcheol only crashes at Wonwoo's place when he's desperate. He'd crashed at Jeonghan's apartment, but Joshua and Jun live there too and he doesn't want to hear how they are called the "J-Unit". Or how they plan to fire another Vice President, because they've done that before and won't hesitate to do it again. Plus they know if Seungcheol is this emotionally fucked up, all of them would know it's Jihoon's doing and things wouldn’t exactly go so well. Nobody else can muster out such a strong emotional response from Seungcheol. Wonwoo wouldn't judge him or try to interrogate him the instant he was met at the door. And that's what Seungcheol needed right now. 

After catching his breath, Seungcheol rings the doorbell. Mingyu—Wonwoo’s boyfriend—opens the door, startled at the unheaved mess Seungcheol is. The two don't really know each other that well, but still make friendly conversation when they can. 

"Wonwoo!" Mingyu yells with a concerned gaze placed on his face, "Your friend is here."

Wonwoo appears out of his bedroom with pastel pink pajama pants, trying to adjust his glasses properly on just his face. Seungcheol can tell Wonwoo wasn't prepared to see him in complete shambles. Like a natural instinct, the lanky boy runs over and hugs Seungcheol.

"Oh god you look like a mess dude." He turns to Mingyu now, "Mingyu can you grab some spare sleep clothes? Seungcheol is going to stay for the night."

Mingyu nods and quickly leaves to retrieve the clothes. Wonwoo does his best to calm down Seungcheol. Seungcheol honestly doesn't know how he deserved a friend like Wonwoo. 

"Let's get you to bed and we can talk about this tomorrow. How about that?" Wonwoo asks.

His throat is too strained to speak so Seungcheol just weakly nods. He gets dressed in the bathroom, trying his best to ignore his puffy eyes. He doesn’t remember anything after that besides passing out of the couch shortly afterwards. 

///

It's 10 a.m. on a Wednesday and Seungcheol decides to skip class today. He looks mentally drained and can’t handle anything else at the moment. It seems like Wonwoo thinks the same because he doesn't get ready for classes as Mingyu waves them both goodbye and steps out onto the sidewalk. 

The two eat breakfast in silence with the TV playing some reruns of Pokemon. After about 72 minutes of silence, Wonwoo speaks up.

"Cheolie you know I don't enjoy prying into your emotional baggage, but you looked like a train wreck that caught on fire yesterday. What the hell happened?"

Seungcheol flinches as he replays the scene back in his mind. He wishes he could erase it, but he can't. "I indirectly told my crush that I love them." Is all he manages to escape out of his throat. 

"Ahh it couldn't have been that bad." Wonwoo says in some pathetic attempt to comfort the older boy.

"Wonu. They're my best friend of ten years. They found out through a poem I wrote about them." Seungcheol says in the smallest voice that can barely be heard with human ears. He curls up on himself, feeling so fragile and vulnerable. His deepest wound being reopened. 

Seungcheol can hear Wonwoo loudly sigh. "Is this about that Jihoon dude you keep bringing up?"

Seungcheol nods.

"Look Seungcheol, they probably didn't take it in a negative way. Besides if they're your best friend I'm sure they'll understand and not change the friendship." Wonwoo begins to run his hands through Seungcheol's hair to ease his worries. "I know you probably don't want to go back to your apartment for a while. So you're free to crash here for a few days."

"Thanks Wonwoo. I don't deserve you." Seungcheol faintly smiles.

"I know. Now get up and get ready we have some errands to run." 

All of Wednesday and Thursday up until noon went by well. That was until someone knocked on the door. When Seungcheol opened it, he didn't expect Jihoon to be standing there. They look more sickly and sleep deprived than usual.

Seungcheol lets go of the breath he's been holding onto for 20 seconds. His mind is jumbled up but he manages to let out a coherent sentence. "How the hell did you know I was here?" 

"Hello to you too Seungcheol" Jihoon sarcastically lets out before making their way into the apartment like they know the damn place. "Soonyoung told me. He heard from Seokmin who was chatting with Mingyu during their Political Science lecture. I told Jeonghan and he freaked out and said you were probably at your other friend's apartment. "

_ Fucking Mingyu and his big mouth. _ Seungcheol curses In his mind.  _ Why the hell is he gossiping about my life? Oh my god I’m gonna rip a hole in that Gucci belt he loves.  _

The two see Wonwoo and Mingyu step quietly out of the kitchen to see what the commotion was.

"Cheol, who is this?" Wonwoo asks, concerned about a stranger in his living room.

"Wonwoo," Seungcheol takes a deep breath, "this is Jihoon."

That's all it takes for Wonwoo to abruptly grab and shove Mingyu back into the kitchen. With a firm nod he exits the room saying, "I'll give you two some privacy."

///

Now it's just the two of them. Seungcheol and Jihoon. Jihoon and Seungcheol. And it's so fucking awkward.

"Uhhh" they both start off only to stop just as quickly. Seungcheol can literally feel the room being uncomfortably humid now. He begins to dart his eyes onto anything and everything except, of course, on Jihoon.

"I wanted—no needed— to talk to you Cheolie." Jihoon begins as they work at a loose thread on their blue sweater. 

"If it's about what happened on Tuesday I'm sorry. It's just a stupid poem, nothing special about it or important—" Seungcheol rambles til he's cut off.

"Seungcheol please!" Jihoon pleads in a strained voice. They pull at their hair harshly until there are loose strands falling out. Jihoon looks so tired and distressed. They calm themselves before speaking again, "please just listen to what I have to say."

"Okay. Okay I’ll listen." 

And so Jihoon takes a deep breath and begins. "At first I was a little taken back that someone could say something so beautiful about me, for me. I'm honestly so touched by Seungcheol." A faint smile is now drawn across their face as they look down at the floor. "And it was then that I realized I felt the same."

Jihoon walks over to Seungcheol who is somehow now curled up into a ball on the couch in his classic crisis mode. This is usually reserved for finals week, but there are some exceptions for this type of breakdown for Seungcheol. 

Jihoon takes Seungcheol's hands in their own as they sit beside Seungcheol. "I sort of had those feelings inside of me for a while now, but I never realized they were romantic because we've been best friends since forever." Jihoon chuckles lightly. "So I guess what I'm trying to say is that I love you Seungcheol, but more than a friend."

Honestly, Seungcheol is so overwhelmed right now. The emotional rollercoaster he's been through puts any ride in the theme parks a run for their money. So he does what any college student suffering does, emulate a meme. 

Seungcheol inhales sharply before saying, in a high pitch voice, "That's pretty lit bro."

"Are you fucking for real right now?"

Seungcheol nods. "I don't want to ruin our friendship after all these years. You know how much I care about you and—"

"Ruin it."

"I'm sorry, what?" Seungcheol thinks he’s hearing things. He knows he’s gone insane for the past three days, but hearing things definitely wasn’t something he’d expect. 

"Ruin it.” Jihoon calmly says in a serious tone. “I don't care. Put a redline through it and scribble over it and burn it down or whatever. Just make sure to replace our friendship with a relationship afterwards."

Seungcheol can only react by embracing Jihoon in a warm hug and saying, "I love you Hoonie." He honestly didn’t expect for this to happen, he’s so overcome by a warm feeling inside his heart. 

And all Jihoon can do is sigh into the warmth, saying "I love you too Cheolie."

The moment is so nice and peaceful. Which is cut ever so short by the door being picked opened to reveal a happy clusterfuck disaster known as "3J + Hoshi."

"We heard everything." Jeonghan says in a serious voice before letting out a century long sigh, "Finally this pining is over with! I swear I was aging just from the stress."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Seungcheol pouting and becoming upset that the moment is ruined. 

"To see if this was going to go well or not. Joshua, Jun, and Soonyoung were here in case a fight broke out." The three others wave at the call of their names.

Seungcheol glances over to examine them and— _ is that a fucking pair of nunchucks in Jun's hand? And how the hell did anyone like Soonyoung get a sledgehammer? Wait, who the fuck picked the lock?  _

Seungcheol's thinking is halted by a single loud clap. "But seeing as things went well, we're heading out! Enjoy your young blossoming love!" Jeonghan cheers on before him and his little entourage walks away. 

"Can we come out now?" A voice from the kitchen calls. It sounds like Wonwoo. 

"I thought we did that already?" Jihoon drily retorts back to the voice. 

"Very funny Jihoon." Wonwoo says when he and Mingyu make their way to the living room, "I was also prepared for a fight to break out. I'm so glad it's all over now."

"Oh it isn’t," Seungcheol deadpans as he fixes a glare on Mingyu and rushes towards him, "you and your big fucking mouth!"

Mingyu screams, immediately running aimlessly around the room. Seungcheol appears to have acquired a porcelain vase in his hand now and starts chasing the boy. 

Neither Jihoon and Wonwoo stop whatever is happening. 

“Wonwoo’s the name by the way.” Wonwoo turns to Jihoon.

“Jihoon. It’s nice to finally meet you.” Jihoon smiles. 

“I could say the same as well.” Wonwoo returns. 

Jihoon and Wonwoo do nothing afterwards but recline onto the couch and watch the shit show happen. Because it's the perfect ending to all of this. And nothing could ruin it. 

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> The poem in the story is loosely based off one I wrote for someone so I'm actually cringing at it. Anyways I hope this was okay. I finished it weeks ago but sort of felt self conscious about it lol. Feedback is appreciated <3


End file.
